Art Of The Title Looks Back At Video Game Intro Screens

When we discuss games, we talk about a lot of different things: story, graphics, visuals, and gameplay. We often overlook the importance of the title screen. Thankfully, Art of the Title reminds us how important these moments are.

In “A Brief History of Video Game Title Design,” Art of the Title editor Ian Albison dives deep into our history, starting with Donkey Kong in 1981 and concludes 35 titles later with The Last of Us. Kudos to Albison for including my personal favorite (and one of my top three games of all time), Mega Man 2.

The video is set to Anamanaguchi’s “Endless Fantasy.” You can check it out below.

My favorite title screens have to be from Metroid Prime and Xenoblade Chronicles.

MP's title screen had an vague, molecular background (with your standard electronic interference/filters) and a kick-ass techno song playing... it set the stage perfectly for a science fiction game.

Xenoblade's title screen stirred a mix of interesting feelings in me; melancholy, peace of mind, awe, longing...I remember occasionally letting the title screen sit for extended periods of time, just to be able to listen to the song and watch the sun set on the Monado. Beautiful.

Awesome video! I'm a bit sad to not see Assassin's Creed 2, as it has in my opinion the best title screen and user interface ever (but that's just to my tastes). Still, very cool to see how games have evolved over the years, even the parts we usually overlook.

Mega Man 2 is always going to be the most memorable intro for me. The song and the scaling of the building with MM on top amazed the hell out of me when I was younger. Other than that Half-Life and RE2's intros were awesome to watch. The creepiest title would be Silent Hill, that creepy music and videos they introduced you to the game with were enough to let you know the game will be terrifying you shortly.